Birmingham Hippodrome hosts Summer In Southside fest

Get ready for three weekends of top entertainment with the return of Summer In Southside, a festival of free outdoor performances around Birmingham Hippodrome.

Over thirty companies featuring over 100 local, regional, national and international artists will transform the city’s vibrant Southside district around Hurst Street and Arcadian.

The festival will give visitors a chance to experience a range of spectacular and innovative performances from drama and contemporary dance to street theatre and circus, from music and aerial dance to installations and hip hop, with lots of audience participation.

“This year Birmingham Hippodrome is producing a bigger festival over three weekends featuring the very best in outdoor performance culminating in a special Bank Holiday Jamboree.

“Visitors of all ages will be able to experience the pick of Britain’s best outdoor performers and companies from across Europe.

“We’re especially pleased to be presenting so many Midlands based artists as more and more are making outdoor work of exceptional quality and ambition.”

Highlights include: Helen Chadwick Song Theatre featuring close harmony singing and larger than life physical performance; world class Break Dance, Lindy Hop, Charleston and fire from the acclaimed South Paw Dance Company in a re-imagining of Goethe’s Faust and top notch urban sport from Talking Birds who bring their hilarious The Cricketers to the streets of Southside.

There are also breath-taking bungee-assisted contemporary dance from Wired Aerial Theatre; Acrojou with Frantic a mesmerising piece featuring circus, dance and theatre set within a wheel and a promenade audio-tour in Southside from Inspector Sands.

Also performing is The amazing rapping Ida Barr a female Victorian Music-Hall star, created by Christopher Green; a feast of exciting pop up and roaming performances in unusual places plus two performances selected by Hippodrome Plus Youth Ambassadors.

Events will take place on Hippodrome Square, Inge Street, Hurst Street, Arcadian Centre, National Trust Back to Back courtyard and Loft Lounge Car Park.

Once again Inge Street and part of Hurst Street will be closed to traffic on performance days enabling visitors and families to easily enjoy the events and walk freely around performance spaces.

Summer In Southside will run each day from 1pm-7pm.

On August 9 Live And Local features the best outdoor performances made in the Midlands.

Euro Stars follows August 16 presenting some of the finest European Acts.

The festival culminates with Bank Holiday Jamboree on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 August with late night performances of Southpaw Dance Company’s Faust at 10pm.